Irish Eyes: Unusual Historicals for September 2025

I know, I'm shockingly late with this month's round-up of Unusual Historicals but I have a good excuse. I just got back from a 10-day trip to Ireland with my older sister. Two middle-aged women in a Kia Picanto (Go, Go Picanto!) starting and ending in Dublin - basically circling Ireland. Belfast, Galway, Killarney, Kilkenny, and a bunch of stops in between. Breathtaking countryside, amazing weather (just one rainy, dreary day!), proper Guinness, proper cider, and more medieval castles than you can shake a stick at.  To get this long overdue party started, let's lead off with a suitably appropriate title...

The Irish Midwife by Seána Tinley

Can she finally put herself first, in order to find love?

Peggy Cassidy is a milly, working in the Belfast linen mills to just about get by. But Peggy also has another job - a secret one. She works as a handywoman - an illegal midwife, tending to the women of her community in their time of need.

When Peggy is offered the chance to leave Belfast to receive formal midwifery training in Dublin, it sets off a chain of events that will change her life forever.

But amongst her middle-class colleagues, Peggy must keep the truth about her past secret at all times. If the realities of her life in Belfast are revealed, she could lose everything she has worked for.

And when she meets a well-to-do doctor down in Dublin, she must make a decision: should she protect her family and her history? Or can she let herself fall in love?

Tinley is better known to romance readers under the name Catherine Tinley, having written a number of books for Harlequin Historical. This book, set in mid-1930s Belfast and Dublin, is described as "saga historical romance," backed up by the 405 page count listed over at Amazon.  I'm pretty excited to give this one a whirl and it's already locked and loaded on my Kindle.

The Gunslinger's Widow by A.M. Vergara

When a gang of outlaws storms Flaka’s family ranch, pursuing a lone gunslinger, she kills the gang’s leader in a split-second decision that turns her into southern Texas’ most hunted fugitive.

Flaka couldn’t have known the masked bandit she shot was the local mayor’s son. And Mayor Ian Marcus is not a man to let his son’s killer go free, even if it was self-defense. Flaka joins up with the stranger who started all the trouble—Oliver, a mysterious and alluring gunslinger who promises to protect her. They flee across the deserts of southern Texas and northern Mexico, seeking safety outside the reach of Marcus’s vengeance. But Ian Marcus respects neither jurisdiction nor borders and, as her feelings for Oliver grow, Flaka begins to realize that the final showdown may come at a cost far higher than her own life.

I know less than nothing about this author but if ever a back cover blurb screamed "WENDY!" it's this one. A historical western romance the way I like 'em - not a cutesy small town in sight. Will the characters manage to stay alive, let alone fall in love? Guess I'll have to read the book to find out.

Is This Real or Just Pretend? by Emily Sullivan

Alexandra Atkinson prides herself on being in control. It’s why she’s such an asset to her father’s investment firm—along with her utter lack of a social life and her talent for spotting successful ventures for investors. But with her father nearing retirement and the board unwilling to have a female head, Alex could lose everything . . .

After his business partner burned him, Lucien Taylor is determined to start over. But he doesn’t know how until his childhood friend’s sister, Alexandra Atkinson, comes to him with a most unusual proposal: She’ll help Lucien find the funding he needs if he pretends to court her long enough to secure her claim to her father’s company.

But Alex and Lucien soon realize they didn’t quite account for all the details in their arrangement—like how they can undo each other with just a look. And the more time they spend together, the more the intensity shimmering between them can’t be controlled. Not even by Alex. And if they give in? Well, she’s not sure which of them will be in more trouble . . . but she’s willing to find out.

She's a numbers whiz trying to convince her father's partners that just because she doesn't have a penis doesn't make her incapable. To solve that issue? A fake engagement to her brother's friend who just so happens to need her investment advice to scratch up some needed funds. 

Lady Like by Mackenzi Lee

Two women set their sights on marrying the same duke, but instead of becoming enemies, they find themselves falling in love—though not with him.

Harriet Lockhart never planned to marry. She has spent her life defying expectations, playing male roles on London’s seediest stages, and doing whatever she pleases. When Harry is contacted by her hitherto anonymous father, she finds herself at risk of losing the trust fund that’s subsidized her lifestyle—unless she begins to lead a more respectable life, starting with finding a husband.

Emily Sergeant, the picture of modesty, has only ever wanted to marry. And were it not for one mistake in her youth that rendered her a social pariah, she would be appropriately betrothed. Instead, she’s due to wed the only willing—and most abominable—man in her small town. Desperate for an alternative, Emily flees to London to snag a less lecherous fiancé.

Worlds collide, dramatically and hilariously, when both women decide on the very same duke as their best possible chance at a tolerable husband and a secure future. A tongue-in-cheek romp through London’s summer season, from balls to brothels, horseraces to duels, Harry and Emily compete for the duke’s favor, only to find their true hearts’ desires may be more compatible than they could have ever predicted.

A scandalous actress and a social pariah are on the hunt for a tolerable husband, a minor matter complicated when they both set their sights on the exact same duke.  As they both vie for his attentions they find themselves drawn to each other instead.

To Heist and to Hold by Christina Britton

A vigilante widow and a casino owner are both trying to bluff their way to a winning hand.

Heloise Marlowe has always forged her own path. As a former blacksmith and fencing instructor, she wasn’t just going to sit around knitting after her husband died. The Wimpole Street Widows Society, a secret group dedicated to balancing the scales of justice, was a much better fit for her skills. Her newest mission: seduce the owner of the club Dionysus and gain access to the den’s inner workings. She didn’t mind putting her body on the line, but she wasn’t prepared to gamble her heart.

Ethan Sinclaire has worked hard to clean up his club after the betrayal of his brother. But now, rumors are swirling that his club is just as crooked as before. He won’t let anyone destroy what he’s built, so when Heloise starts poking around, he decides to go all in, in hopes that she’ll show her hand. Enjoying her company is the easy part. Keeping himself from falling—that’s a whole different card game.

The start of a brand new series, she's a widow bent on vengeance and he's a casino owner who fears his establishment has fallen back into bad habits he worked very hard to clean up. Naturally they are at cross purposes and naturally they can't stay away from each other.

Resisting the Forbidden Widow by Maggie Weston

He has a list of eligible brides

But his assistant isn’t on it…

After losing her husband so young, Mary vowed to never love again. Her new position as Cameron Sykes’s assistant is the perfect guarantee of independence. Until Cameron tasks her with helping him find a titled wife!

As they try to find his perfect bride, it’s only Mary that Cameron can imagine at the altar…and in the marriage bed! Yet she can’t give him the Society approval that his hardworking parents desperately craved. But can he resist the all-consuming lust that’s threatening to derail his plans?

Victorian era and third book in a trilogy, a young widow heroine takes a job as an assistant to a self-made man who has more money than the Queen herself, but not the blue-blood pedigree. What's a hero to do? Ask his capable assistant to help find him suitable wifely prospects, or course!  And naturally it all goes to hell when he can't stop thinking about his assistant in that role... 

Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti

Celebrated authoress Lady Georgiana Cleeve has achieved fame and fortune. Unfortunately, she’s also acquired an enemy: the enigmatic Lady Darling, whose spine-tingling plots appear to be pulled straight from Georgiana’s own manuscripts. What’s a stubborn, steely writer to do? Unmask her rival, of course.

But unmasking doesn’t go according to plan—because Lady Darling is actually Cat Lacey, the butler’s daughter and object of Georgiana’s very secret, very embarrassing teenage infatuation.

Cat Lacey has spent a decade clawing her family out of poverty. The last thing she needs is to be distracted by the stunning(ly pretentious) Lady Georgiana Cleeve. But Cat can’t seem to escape her infuriatingly beautiful rival—including at the eerie manor where they both plan to set their next books. The plot unexpectedly thickens, however, when the novelists find themselves trapped in the manor together. In between ghostly moans and spectral staff, Cat and Georgiana come face-to-face with real danger: the scorching passion that’s been haunting their rivalry all along.

A Gothic novelist heroine who discovers her biggest rival is the butler's daughter she had a horrible crush on as a teenager. Things come to a head when they both make the trip to a creepy manor where they plan to set their next books.

Grace in Glasgow by Matilda Madison

Sometimes love is the best medicine.

Grace Sharpe has finally found the perfect medical instructor in Dr. James Hall. As a woman, Grace isn’t permitted to attend university to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor. But now that Dr. Hall has taken her under his tutelage, she’s more determined than ever to make her dreams come true.

As long as she can focus on her work...

Dr. James Hall isn’t pleased with his current situation. After being begged, pressed, and eventually threatened to take on the youngest Sharpe sister as a student, he reluctantly does so. And while Grace seems more than capable of handling herself, James worries that he will not be able to keep his true feelings about her concealed.

When missing persons reports begin popping up all over Glasgow, Grace suspects something nefarious. Will Grace and James be willing to sacrifice anything to uncover the truth, including love?

Third in a series, she's determined to become a doctor but keeps hitting road blocks because she doesn't have a penis. He's the doctor pressed into tutoring her, a predicament he's none to happy about because feelings. 

On the Ropes of Scandal by Sandra Sookoo

Mr. Duncan Stapleton, Lord Frampton, adores the time he spends in the boxing ring as much as he does being a rake in London. He has a natural talent for boxing, and with each illegal bout, his confidence grows. Though the sport is wildly dangerous and ultimately took his father’s life, it’s the only thing he wishes to do and it’s a fat lot better than going into the church as his mother recently suggested… until a powerful jab to the head relieves him of his memories and he’s left wandering Cranleigh one early October evening.

Miss Phoebe Bidwell is tired of grieving. With most of her family dead, she takes refuge in her aunt’s small Surrey bakery, but those skills in creating confections don’t prepare her when the handsome man she watched box stumbles into her doorway on the street with no idea of who he is or where he came from. Deciding a string of little white lies is acceptable in order to have a bit of happiness for herself, she settles into sin with him.

The autumn days fly, but when Duncan’s brothers descend upon the bakery and tear apart the fake marriage story, they demand a surcease to the blatant scandal. Afterward, Phoebe and her pretend husband remove to London. Just as his memories slowly come back, they are forced to wed for real, and life shifts. He wants a return to his rakish life, and she’s a fish out of water in the ton, but when two fighters are against the ropes, they’ll either need to come out swinging or declare defeat, especially when the prize is love.

Third book in a series with shades of While You Were Sleeping. A particularly bad blow to the head leads to amnesia for our boxer hero, and the heroine, hiding and toiling away in her aunt's bakery, figures what's the cost of one little white lie? Turns out quite a bit when the hero's brothers find him and his "wife" which of course leads to a big ol' scandal. 

Nine titles this month, a whirlwind tour of options. What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to this month?

Giving Thanks: Unusual Historicals for November 2024

I'm not sure if it's just the fact of getting older (I have a big milestone birthday hitting next year - yikes!), the general stress of the last several years (2020, if not longer, to now has been a lot for all of us I think!) or that I'm closing out Year 21 (!) of this blog's existence - but I'm feeling maudlin. In honor of Thanksgiving, I want to thank all of you who still visit this most dinosaur of mediums (people still blog?!), take the time to occasionally comment, and just show your support in a multitude of ways. I appreciate all of you and you're a big reason why I haven't just thrown up my hands and let this space collect permanent mothballs. Now, let us give thanks and show our appreciation for some intriguing Unusual Historical titles landing this month:

The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews

Stella Hobhouse is a brilliant rider, stalwart friend, skilled sketch artist—and completely overlooked. Her outmodish gray hair makes her invisible to London society. Combined with her brother’s pious restrictions and her dwindling inheritance, Stella is on the verge of a lifetime marooned in Derbyshire as a spinster. Unless she does something drastic…like posing for a daring new style of portrait by the only man who’s ever really seen her.

Aspiring painter Edward “Teddy” Hayes knows true beauty when he sees it. He would never ask Stella to risk her reputation as an artist’s model but in the five years since a virulent bout of scarlet fever left him partially paralyzed, Teddy has learned to heed good fortune when he finds it. He’ll do anything to persuade his muse to pose for him, even if he must offer her a marriage of convenience.  

After all, though Teddy has yearned to trace Stella’s luminous beauty on canvas since their chance meeting, her heart is what he truly aches to capture….

An overlooked heroine starring down the barrel of spinsterhood decides to pose for the only man, an artist, who has ever truly seen her. What she gets instead is a marriage of convenience. This is the fourth book in the author's Belles of London series.  Miss Bates posted a recent review.

Duchess Material by Emily Sullivan

Phoebe Atkinson is what society might call unconventional. Instead of marrying well like other women born to wealth, she chose to be a schoolteacher. Not to mention she lives in a leaky flat in an unfashionable part of town rather than stay in her parents’ mansion. But when her most promising pupil goes missing she has only one option: beg her sister’s best friend, the powerful Duke of Ellis, for help. 

The last thing William Margrave ever expected was to inherit a dukedom. But now that he has it, he’s determined to act the part perfectly—and that includes marrying the perfect duchess. A bluestocking Bohemian schoolteacher is decidedly not duchess material. But he can’t resist her plea for help regarding her missing student. 

As they fall further into the mystery, William discovers that he never got over his childhood crush on Phoebe, and he doesn’t really want to.

A wealthy, unconventional heroine who lives in a leaky flat and is a schoolteacher (!) has no choice but to go to a powerful Duke (our hero) for help when one of her students goes missing. Our Duke needs to find a suitable wife, not get tangled up with some schoolteacher - but of course, tangled he gets. This sounds positively delightful, and oh look - another review from Miss Bates.

Her Warrior's Redemption by Michelle Willingham

They fought for their lives 

Now they must fight for their love!

Trapped in Constantinople’s brutal fighting pits, Brian of Penrith forms an unbreakable bond with his fellow captive, resilient maiden Velaria. Yet once they escape home to England, Velaria’s highborn status keeps her out of the humble warrior’s reach. 

But their shared struggle in returning to their former lives connects them once more. Though Brian is haunted by past guilt, and Velaria is destined to marry a nobleman, a thrilling attraction ignites! Soon Brian discovers the truth about his past, which gives him hope for redemption and could forever change their fates…

Constantinople! A hero and heroine imprisoned together! And then, of course, despite the bond they share, once back in England society deems him "not good enough" for her. This is the third book in Willingham's Legendary Warriors series and seriously, I just need to binge read them.

The Scandalous Widow by Elizabeth Rolls

She’s determined never to marry again… 

Is he the gentleman to change her mind? 

Left penniless by her late husband and disowned by her family, widow Lady Althea withdrew from polite society, and became infamous for indulging in not-so-secret liaisons with gentlemen of the ton. These days, Althea lives quietly with her beloved dog, Puck, and secretly pens salacious novels instead! 

Then handsome solicitor Hugo Guthrie arrives, with her orphaned nieces in tow, and turns her life upside down. For the girls need a home, and working with Hugo is making every emotion Althea thought she could live without come crashing back to life!

Please, please for the love of all that is holy let this heroine truly be "scandalous." Please, please let it be that she truly has taken a series of lovers, it's not some elaborate ploy and she's really not pure as the driven snow hiding a Big Secret - because hot damn this blurb is 100% pure Wendy catnip.

Mentor to the Marquess by Melissa Kendall

A survivor of spousal abuse, matchmaker Olivia Heather, the Dowager Countess of Allen, devotes her time to preventing the young ladies of society from following in her footsteps—until a series of newspaper articles accuse her of murdering her late husband.

Her plan to use her feminine wiles to convince the man responsible for the attacks to stop is stymied when the man in question, the infuriatingly handsome Thellusson Vaith, Marquess Lowell, requests that she find a love match for his daughter.

Nonetheless determined to make him pay for his misdeeds, Olivia vows to ignore the attraction simmering between them—until she learns that he hasn’t bedded a woman since his wife’s death nearly twenty years prior. Unable to resist the sensitive, guilt-ridden marquess, she takes on a new role: Mentoring him in the ways of pleasure.

But when they discover letters that suggest someone is manipulating Thel’s daughter using the same techniques that Olivia’s husband once used against her, they must delve into Olivia’s wounded past and resolve old family conflicts before the marquess’s daughter is in danger and Olivia is arrested for a crime she did not commit.

This is the second book in the author's Seductive Sleuths series and I'll be honest, the whole "she mentors him in the bedroom" thing just seems like piling on in a blurb that has more than enough plot going for it. But I'm intrigued by the set-up of the heroine trying to help women so they don't fall into the same trap she did so I'll undoubtedly give this one a whirl at some point.

The Countess's Christmas Groom by Fenna Edgewood

A festive house party, a forbidden attraction…

Returning home for the holidays, Lady Katherine Colworth hopes that the cozy glow of Christmas might bring her a reprieve from the painful rumors of her husband’s death. Instead, she finds herself drawn to an unlikely confidant—a handsome, young footman serving in her family’s household.

A man out of place but captivated…

Ashley Spencer has worked his way up from the stables to a temporary post inside the manor, but the glittering holiday gatherings seem worlds away from his life. Until he meets the countess. Beneath the festive garlands and candlelit halls, he discovers a woman he’s bound to protect—even as he’s falling deeply in love with her.

A love that defies all expectations…

Under mistletoe and moonlight, Katherine and Ashley cross the boundaries of class and age, drawn together by a love as fierce as it is unlikely. But with Katherine’s past threatening to shatter their newfound happiness, will the season’s magic be enough to protect their hearts?

A house party and an affair between a Lady and a footman.  These are the kind of holiday romance shenanigans I can totally get behind! This is also the first book in a series.

Knight of Mayhem by Sherry Ewing

As one of Empress Matilda's most trusted knights, Lord Richard Grancourt helps plan his monarch's escape when Oxford Castle is held under siege by King Stephen’s army. When a woman in Stephen’s forces discovers their plan, Richard is tasked with remaining behind and keeping her silent.

Lady Annora de Maris will do anything to save her son, who has been King Stephen's hostage since his men killed her husband and took her home. Though she’s forced to raise her sword against King Stephen's enemies, her loyalties are secretly with the Empress she’s compelled to fight against.

Richard takes Annora captive, but his tactics challenge his beliefs about honor and justice, and his feelings for Annora conflict with his duty.

The fourth book in the author's Knights of Anarchy series features a heroine hiding her true motives and a hero who takes her captive when she discovers his plans. I love that this series is set during The Anarchy and I really need to read Book 1....

Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know by Mary Jo Putney (Reprint, novella)

He was going to be hanged on Tuesday

English-born Andrew Kane had enjoyed the adventurous life of a gambler in the Wild West, but after winning a ranch in Colorado, he was ready to settle down. Then his attempt to protect a young tavern girl led to a shoot out and a wrongful conviction for murder.

On his journey to the gallows, he meets despairing young widow Eliza Holden who intervenes when he's being beaten by his guards. Together, they find comfort and a stunning sense of connection. Can Eliza create a Christmas miracle for them both?

Originally published in the 1993 Rakes and Rogues anthology, I believe this might be Putney's only published western?  I love reading westerns and I like reading short so this one is going on the pile.

Christmas Through the Ages by Carla Kelly (Reprint, novellas)

In Christmas Eve Proposal, Christmas gets interesting when naval war hero Ben Muir returns home and takes lodgings in the village teashop with Mandy Mathison. For when her scandalous past is revealed, only he can save her future!

In A Father for Christmas, when Marine Ezra Eldridge manages to escape a hijacked ship, he knows he must complete his dangerous mission. But when he manages to find an empty house, he discovers beguiling widow Lissy and her young son… and they agree the perfect cover is for him to pose as her husband!

And in Christmas Dance with the Rancher, stranded, spirited Katie becomes chore girl on Ned Avery's ranch. When Ned asks her if she would marry a rancher, she laughs it off and teaches him to dance, promising him he will soon find a wife. But she’s unaware it’s her Ned has set his sights upon!

Christmas With a Naval Captain by Carla Kelly (Reprint, novellas)

In The Captain’s Christmas Journey, Captain Everard is escorting Verity to her governess job—and for propriety’s sake that means a convenient engagement!

In Captain Grey’s Christmas Proposal, Captain Grey had been fighting malarial fever in Savannah when he was nursed back to health by the captivating Theodora Winnings. He proposed by letter—but her reply was lost for a decade. The answer was “yes!”—but is she still willing to become his Christmas bride?

And in Christmas Promise, now that peace has broken out, Captain Jeremiah Faulk is at odds over what to do this Christmas, let alone with his life. Until a simple act of charity reunites him with his lost love—the unattainable Ianthe Mears …

Finally these last two anthologies by Carla Kelly feature stories that have all been previously published in multi-author Harlequin Historical anthologies, but it's the first time they've been packaged together. Kelly's Christmas stories are fan favorites and this is a great opportunity to have all of these stories in one place or pick them up if you missed them the first time around.

What Unusual Historicals are you looking forward to?